The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
As defined in our governing document our charitable purposes are to provide counselling and psychological therapy services in and around the City of Sunderland and the North of England in order to relieve suffering and distress.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
In pursuance of this mission Sunderland Counselling Service exists to:
Promote and improve mental health and emotional wellbeing for adults.
Provide services which assist in relieving suffering from emotional and / or mental distress.
Improve the lives of men and women who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence in childhood and / or adulthood.
Promote and improve positive mental health and emotional wellbeing for children and young people.
Enable and empower users of our service to live independently in the community as valued citizens.
Develop and maintain a professional and suitably qualified workforce.
Maintain services that meet the needs of our clients.
Work in partnership with other services in the statutory and voluntary sectors.
Work to provide any other relevant and related service for which there is a genuine demand and inadequate provision.
In working to achieve these aims Sunderland Counselling Service currently provides the following services:·
NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies: Working in partnership with Cumbria Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies service, providing a stepped care model of interventions for people suffering from common mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Our focus is on low intensity CBT at step 2 of the stepped care model and high intensity support for people whose mental health and emotional wellbeing are affected by their caring responsibilities.
Sunderland Primary Care Counselling Service: providing individual time limited counselling as part of the NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies pathway.
NHS Northumberland Talking Therapies: Working in partnership with Mental Health Matters to deliver the NHS Northumberland Talking Therapies service, providing a stepped care model of interventions for people suffering from common mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Our focus is on low intensity CBT and high intensity counselling elements of the service.
NHS North Tyneside Talking Therapies: provision of two counselling pathways in the NHS North Tyneside Talking Therapies service, working at both steps 2 and 3 of the stepped care model.
NHS Durham & Darlington Talking Therapies: provision of two counselling pathways in the NHS Durham and Darlington Talking Therapies service, working at both steps 1 and 3 of the stepped care model.
Counselling for Adult Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse (CASSVA): provides individual counselling to men and women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse or sexual violence in adulthood in Sunderland; and to male clients across the Northumbria police force area.
REACH Counselling Service: counselling provision for male and female victims of recent sexual assault across the Northumbria police force area, working as part of the Northumbria Sexual Assault Referral Centre.
Cancer Counselling Service (ended September 2025): provides individual counselling for adults suffering from any form of cancer who are receiving treatment in Sunderland, and for their adult family members / carers.
St Benedict's Hospice Service: providing individual counselling and other forms of support for patients and family members, carers and children of patients at St Benedict's Hospice in Sunderland.
Bereavement Support: provision of bereavement support groups for Sunderland residents.
Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service: provides individual counselling to children and young people in Sunderland, as part of the Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service, in partnership with South Tyneside & Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust; we also provide part of the team of Children's Wellbeing Practitioners in the service.
Good Vibes: working in collaboration with Sunderland All Together youth consortium, we deliver individual counselling to young people accessing youth projects across the city.
Schools-based Counselling Services: we are directly commissioned by several schools across Sunderland to provide individual counselling for their pupils.
Employee Counselling Services: under contract to Sunderland City Council, providing occupational health counselling to council employees.
CTT Counselling: providing one to one counselling for patients accessing secondary care community mental health services in Sunderland and South Tyneside.
Link work projects: we deliver several link work projects in and around Sunderland including:
Listening Ear: for parents of children and young people who are accessing Sunderland Community Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Service, who are themselves experiencing mental health difficulties.
Maternal Mental Health Link Work: for new and expectant mothers in Sunderland who are experiencing mental health difficulties..
Community Mental Health Link Work: for adults in Sunderland experiencing mental health difficulties.
Children & Young People Link Work: for children and young people who are waiting for treatment from Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service.
PLT Link Work service: providing additional support to patients with mental health difficulties who are in contact with the Psychiatric Liaison Team at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Supervision and Professional Development: the service provides trainee placement and volunteering opportunities for psychology students, trainee counsellors and other psychological therapists. We provide clinical counselling supervision, training and professional development to our staff and volunteers; we also provide these services to other agencies.
Philosophy
Counselling, therapy and support services are informed by a person-centred philosophy where clients are at the heart of the therapeutic intervention. Key to our approach are the qualities of empathy, acceptance and congruence. The service adheres to the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions laid down by the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) which emphasises principles of fidelity, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and self-respect. We maintain our service accreditation with BACP for the majority of our counselling services for adults and for children. By providing a safe and supportive environment for clients to explore their issues, it is hoped that they will achieve a better ability to function individually and within society and achieve a greater degree of autonomy and resourcefulness.
Equalities Statement
Sunderland Counselling Service is committed to making our services accessible to those who need them. Therefore, we operate an Equal Opportunities Policy, which applies equally to clients accessing our services as well as to prospective employees and volunteers.
We undertake not to discriminate against any potential client in ensuring that they receive services appropriate to their needs. We will assess individual need and provide services to meet this need wherever possible. This may include making reasonable adaptations to service delivery, such as providing accessible venues, interpreter provision, literature in a range of languages and meeting any preference on gender of therapist where available. We make no charge to our clients for any of the services we provide.
We further undertake not to discriminate against any prospective or current employee or volunteer for any reason. We will do all we can to ensure that our staff and volunteer teams are representative of the communities we exist to serve, that they are treated fairly and on the basis of merit and will do our best to provide positive opportunities for underrepresented groups.
We recognise that certain groups in society often experience discrimination – for example, due to their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender, sex or sexual orientation. We recognise, respect and value the contributions made by individuals and support them to deliver their work in a fair and equitable manner. We aim to create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination. We will not collude with acts of discrimination or harassment and will challenge systemic and structural discrimination wherever we encounter it.
Sunderland Counselling Service is an established and respected voluntary sector organisation, committed to the promotion of volunteering while ensuring safe professional practice and a productive working environment. Operating according to the Volunteer Policy, underpinned by the Equal Opportunities Policy, all volunteers are provided with the opportunity to access training and supervision appropriate to their role and which will assist them in their personal and professional development. Volunteer roles are evidenced at all levels throughout the service, as are the high number of volunteers who have achieved paid posts both within the service and with many other agencies in the statutory and voluntary sectors across our region.
The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the trustees to present a strategic report.
During the last year the charity has worked towards its objectives as described above and continues to provide excellent services to the people of the northeast of England.
NHS Talking Therapies services:
Our contracts with CNTW for the provision of Sunderland’s Primary Care Counselling service and NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies are securely in place until March 2025, with an extension to March 2026.
NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies met the national recovery target for 10 out of 12 months in the year, with our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and Carers Therapist meeting the target every month.
The Primary Care Counselling service met the national recovery target every month, with reliable improvement figures consistently well above targets, demonstrating the positive impact that our services have for the people who use them.
The contract for NHS Northumberland Talking Therapies, in place until August 2024, was then extended to March 2026.
The Northumberland service as a whole met national targets for recovery for the year, and our PWPs and counsellors also achieved these as distinct modalities.
In NHS North Tyneside Talking Therapies our counsellors at step 2 continued to deliver recovery rates well above the required targets and our new step 3 counselling pathway also met the target. Both pathways delivered reliable improvement figures above 80%.
Our contract for NHS Durham & Darlington Talking Therapies ended in March 2025; during the year, we were successfully able to negotiate a new three year contract to March 2028.
A common issue facing all Talking Therapies services, both regionally and nationally, is the drive to reduce waiting times for therapy and we continued to work hard with all partners to improve this.
Our Chief Executive served as chair of the North East & North Cumbria Talking Therapies Oversight & Delivery Group, helping to foster a collaborative approach to service delivery and development across the region.
We helped co-ordinate, led and contributed to two events during the year to boost recruitment into Talking Therapies services across the region.
Sexual Violence:
The NHS contract for our Counselling for Adult Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse (CASSVA) service was extended for a further year until March 2025, as was the contract for the REACH service.
Our successful bid to the Northumbria PCC for three year funding from 2023-26 gives the CASSVA service a further element of stability and enhanced capacity.
Cancer and palliative care:
We continued to provide counselling for cancer patients in Sunderland this year, with a much appreciated grant from Sunderland NHS commissioners. This grant meant that the service was secure until September 2025; sadly we were unable to secure ongoing funding, which meant the service came to an end in September 2025, after 14 years of life changing work.
Counselling provision at St Benedict's Hospice was agreed until March 2025 and continues to deliver great benefits for patients, family members, carers and their children.
Children and young people:·
The contract for our elements of the Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service was again extended for a further year until March 2025 with additional funding allowing us to create additional capacity to reduce waiting lists and waiting times.
Our Listening Ear project, providing short term practical and emotional support to parents and carers of young people, has delivered demonstrable benefits to families across Sunderland this year, with funding secured until March 2025.
Our social prescribing project for children and young people went live in September 2023 as part of a national research project led by University College London, called “Wellbeing While Waiting”. The study will report in late 2025, but initial results this year already suggest improvements in resilience and wellbeing for young people, with reductions in numbers needing formal treatment.
Our Good Vibes project, a collaboration with the Sunderland All Together youthwork consortium to deliver counselling in youth projects across Sunderland, was funded by Sunderland commissioners to August 2024. A successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund means the project is now secure until August 2026.
The Beacon of Light school commissioned us to provide counselling for their pupils from November 2024, meaning we are now commissioned by seven schools in Sunderland.
Link Work and other services:
Our Community Mental Health link work project, originally a pilot, is now successfully embedded into mental health service pathways in Sunderland, with funding secured until March 2025.
Our Maternal Mental Health link work project continued this year with support from the Sunderland family hub programme. During the year we collaborated with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance on a successful bid to the Pilgrim Trust, meaning we will be able to expand the service in future years.
We have agreed to participate in a research study with the University of York, aimed at improving perinatal support for young mothers and birthing parents; recruitment of participants was due to start in April 2025.
Our link work project aimed at patients accessing the Psychiatric Liaison Team at the Sunderland Royal Hospital, which went live in January 2024, was paused in July 2024, due to staffing issues; we hope to revive this project in future.
Our project to place counsellors into secondary care community treatment teams expanded from Sunderland to include the South Tyneside teams from January 2025.
Our bereavement support groups continued to offer valuable support to bereaved Sunderland residents throughout the year.
Our occupational health counselling service continued to provide support to employees of the city council throughout the year, under the leadership and guidance of our new lead counsellor.
We were asked by the North East & North Cumbria NHS Staff Wellbeing Hub to provide counselling support to NHS staff referred into their service.
Developing our organisation and our profession:
The student we supported through a bursary scheme with Sunderland University successfully completed their Counselling BA Honours degree.
Under the pilot NHS Psychotherapeutic Counselling training programme, our trainees in the Durham & Darlington service embarked on the third and final year of the programme.
We recruited five volunteer counsellors in training, all of whom have successfully completed their placement and four are continuing to volunteer with us. We also recruited two qualified volunteers, one with a specialism in bereavement. These new volunteers join our existing cohort of three qualified volunteers who remain from last year’s cohort. This year, five of our qualified volunteers started paid employment with us.
We maintained our service accreditations with BACP, our professional governing body, for our adult and young people’s counselling services.
We maintained service accreditation with the Male Survivors Partnership, a national group of organisations that work with male survivors of sexual violence and abuse.
We successfully submitted our NHS Data Security Protection Toolkit and maintained Cyber Essentials accreditation.
We maintained accreditation as a Mindful Employer.
Our client engagement forum continued to meet on a quarterly basis.
In April, we commissioned a full day training event for all of our counsellors and link workers on supporting people with autism.
Our Equality and Diversity guest speaker programme continued
We delivered a two day in house training on working with clients who have experienced sexual violence and abuse, as well as offering opportunities for staff to attend training in sight loss, LGBTQ+ awareness, Domestic Abuse, working at end of life and suicide prevention
18 PWPs completed their training in low intensity CBT this year, from our Sunderland and Northumberland services.
9 counsellors completed training in Person Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression this year, from services in Sunderland, Northumberland, North Tyneside and County Durham & Darlington.
We operate a hybrid model across the majority of our services. We provide support in person, by telephone and by secure video platform, making our services more accessible and convenient for our clients.
Financial position
The charity had net assets of £5,239,150 at 31 March 2025, having generated a surplus of £495,059 in the year then ended (of which £141,843 related to restricted funds). Net current assets amounted to £4,910,838 which included cash at bank of £3,396,247. Unrestricted funds totalled £3,792,656 and restricted funds totalled £1,446,494.
Reserves policy
The management committee revised its reserves policy so that unrestricted funds, not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets, held by the charity should now be at least 6 months of the resources expended, which equates to reserves on unrestricted funds of approximately £2,640,000. The general fund reserve at 31 March 2025 amounted to £3,465,298. The management committee considers that the level of reserves held (approximately 8 months) is reasonable and appropriate so as to enable the charity to best function in the currently challenging economic times.
Principal funding sources
Against a backdrop of insecurity over funding in some service areas the charity has worked hard to sustain existing services and where possible develop additional services. The management committee and staff have worked hard to generate a positive financial outcome for the year.
The principal funding sources are:
NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB
Mental Health Matters
St. Benedict's Hospice Charity
NHS England WTE (formerly Health Education England)
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust
Sunderland City Council
Tees Esk & Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust
Sunderland All Together Consortium
Sunderland Family Hub
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Risk management
The trustees have conducted a review of major risks to which the charity is exposed, including risks pertaining to information governance. Systems and procedures have been established to mitigate those risks identified.
Future plans for 2025 - 26
Plans for the coming financial year are as follows:
NHS Talking Therapies services:
We will work with commissioners and colleagues in Talking Therapies services in Northumberland, Durham & Darlington, North Tyneside and Sunderland to meet revised national targets with a particular focus on reducing waiting times for therapy whilst maintaining reliable recovery and reliable improvement across all modalities.
In particular we will demonstrate the value and effectiveness of counselling and low intensity CBT within these services, the significant contribution these modalities make to achieving recovery targets, and the benefit of investing adequately in these teams.
Through our involvement with the Talking Therapies Oversight & Delivery Group, we will ensure we are able to influence and participate in service developments across the region, which are likely to focus on workforce development and digital innovation, for the benefit of our client groups.
Where possible and appropriate, we will seek to increase the size and capacity of our teams through access to what is known as “autumn statement” expansion funding.
We will collaborate with colleagues in other services, universities and commissioners to address the common problems faced by Talking Therapies around recruitment and retention of staff. Further recruitment events are already planned for the summer of 2025.
As we know that our contracts for services in Sunderland, Northumberland and North Tyneside are all due to end in March 2026, we will work with partners and commissioners to ensure we are able to keep delivering these services.
Sexual Violence:
Given the challenges we face in maintaining funding for working with victims of sexual violence, we will continue to try and secure adequate long term funding for this invaluable area of work. As our current PCC grant is due to end in March 2026, we will make a further application to the PCC for grant funding during the year.
We will explore opportunities for specialist pathways for survivors of sexual violence who have learning difficulties, given the vulnerability to abuse we know these people often experience.
Cancer and palliative care:
Sadly, we were unable to secure funding for our cancer counselling service beyond September 2025, meaning we had to close that service. However we will look for any further opportunities to reinstate that service if possible.
Counselling provision at St Benedict's Hospice is agreed until March 2026 and so we will work closely with the St Benedict’s Hospice Charity board to secure ongoing funding beyond that date, on an annual rolling basis.
Children and Young People:
Having secured additional funding to expand our counselling capacity in the Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service, we will make good use of it to significantly reduce waiting times for children and young people.
We will work with colleagues in STSFT to make the case that this expanded service offer should be made permanent with recurring funding.
As funding for the Good Vibes project is due to end in August 2026, we will pro-actively look for further sources of funding, to ensure this valuable work continues.
We will continue to work with research colleagues at University College London to demonstrate the impact and value of social prescribing interventions for children and young people in Sunderland. We will complete work on the “Wellbeing While Waiting” study and plan to take part in the “INACT” study, which will look at the impact of social prescribing on children and young people experiencing loneliness.
We will expand the availability of social prescribing for children and young people beyond Sunderland, based on our positive results to date.
We will also expand the availability of Listening Ear support for their parents and carers.
Link Work and other services:
We will revive and revitalise the link work project aimed at patients accessing the Psychiatric Liaison Team at the Sunderland Royal Hospital, following a hiatus last year.
We will sustain and develop our counselling service for people who are supported by the community treatment teams in Sunderland and South Tyneside, enhancing the range of talking therapies available within those teams.
Following our successful bid to the Pilgrim Trust, we will expand the capacity and remit of our Maternal Mental Health link work project.
The contract for our occupational health counselling service for Sunderland City Council was due to end in October 2025; we will bid for and aim to retain this contract.
We will build on our positive relationship and successful work with the NENC Staff Wellbeing Hub and aim to increase the range of our service offer to health and social care staff across the region.
Sustaining and developing our organisation:
We will continue to develop our workforce, investing in suitable training for existing staff and volunteers and recruiting trainee staff as appropriate.
In particular we will make good use of NHS funded training opportunities in recognised evidence-based therapies, such as low intensity CBT, Counselling for Depression and the NHS Psychotherapeutic Counselling training programme.
We will explore further opportunities for collaboration with the universities in our region and potential involvement in research.
We will maintain our service accreditations with BACP and the Male Survivors Partnership.
We will maintain accreditation as a Living Wage employer.
We will further develop our plans to reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint.
We will further develop our plans to improve our approach to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion, with a particular focus on how we adapt and deliver services for people with autism and neurodiverse client groups.
We will review our approach to communications and marketing, including updating our website, building our social media presence and making our communications more accessible and inclusive.
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 7 February 1997. The company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
In addition to responding to advertisements placed in the media, people with a genuine interest in the work of Sunderland Counselling Service may approach the service seeking opportunities to volunteer and become a trustee, wishing to contribute worthwhile activity to the community. People who have benefited from the service provision often return at a later date wishing to give something back and offer their services as volunteers, which is evidenced at all levels throughout the organisation. Prospective trustees are requested to apply in writing to the Chair of the management committee including a curriculum vitae. After having been supplied with information about the service the applicant will be then invited to meet with the management committee for an interview, during which the expectations of both applicant and committee will be discussed. The applicant will then be informed of the outcome of the interview within seven days.
Organisational structure
Sunderland Counselling Service has a management committee of a minimum of 3 members who meet monthly and are responsible for the strategic direction of the charity. A chief executive officer is appointed by the committee and is responsible for all aspects of the charity's operations, including obtaining adequate funding to finance the charity's services.
Key management remuneration
The pay of all staff is reviewed annually by the board of trustees and normally increased in line with average earnings. In view of the nature, size and growth of the charity, salaries for senior staff are benchmarked against charities of similar size, complexity and reach. NHS salary scales for comparable roles are considered, given the large amount of collaboration and partnership working we do with NHS organisations. Affordability is a key factor, as well as growth of the charity in the preceding year and any significant changes in individual job roles, scale or remit.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Sunderland Counselling Service for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Sunderland Counselling Service (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the strategic report and the directors' report included within the trustees' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is the extent to which an audit conducted under ISAs (UK) is capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud. Our procedures include:
obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the charity, such as the Companies Act 2006 and relevant charity and tax legislation, and obtaining an understanding of how the charity complies with those frameworks;
assessing the susceptibility of the charity’s financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur, with audit procedures including: considering internal controls; testing supporting documentation; enquiring of the charity's management; reviewing minutes of trustees' meetings; and obtaining written confirmations.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. We are not responsible for preventing fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations and cannot be expected to detect all fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Sunderland Counselling Service is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 51 John Street, Sunderland, SR1 1QN.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles, the Companies Act 2006, Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when all of the following criteria are met:
the charity has entitlement to the funds;
any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met or are fully within the control of the charity;
there is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable; and
the amount can be measured reliably.
Service contract fees are accounted for on an accruals basis. Income received in advance of the provision of the specified services is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking account of any trade discounts due.
Donated goods and services are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. On receipt, donated services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of the provision of counselling services and the associated support costs.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The charity makes a contribution to this pension scheme and a salary sacrifice option is offered to employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity and the charity acts as agent in collecting and paying over the employees' pension contributions. The employer's contributions made for the accounting period are treated as an expense.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
In addition to recorded incoming resources the charity received the benefit of many thousands of voluntary hours and unclaimed out of pocket expenses contributed by its supporters. It would be impossible to place a value on all these services and expenses, without which much of the work undertaken could not be achieved and for which the charity is extremely grateful.
Cancer Counselling Service
The provision of individual counselling to people with any form of cancer.
Sunderland Community Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
Contract held with NHS Sunderland ICB for the provision of individual counselling support to children and young people and interventions delivered by CWPs, in Sunderland.
Counselling for Adult Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse (CASSVA)
Contract held with NHS Sunderland ICB for the provision of individual counselling for male and female survivors of rape and sexual abuse in Sunderland.
CTT Counselling
A pilot project to provide counselling in the community treatment teams in Sunderland and South Tyneside.
CYP Social Prescribing
A pilot project to deliver social prescribing for children and young people in Sunderland.
Durham & Darlington Talking Therapies
Under contract to TEWV NHS Foundation Trust, provision of counselling at steps 1 and 3 in the Talking Therapies service covering County Durham & Darlington.
Good Vibes
A project funded by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the Sunderland All Together youth consortium; we deliver counselling in youth projects across the city.
GP Project
Contract held with CNTW for the provision of counselling in GP practices in Sunderland.
North Tyneside Talking Therapies
Under contract to NHS Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust for the provision of the counselling element of North Tyneside's Talking Therapies service.
GP Project
Contract held with CNTW for the provision of counselling in GP practices in Sunderland.
North Tyneside Talking Therapies
Under contract to NHS Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust for the provision of the counselling element of North Tyneside's Talking Therapies service.
Northumberland Talking Therapies
Under sub-contract to MHM, delivery of Northumberland's Talking Therapies service.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
Grant funding from the Northumbria PCC, with which we augment our service provision within the CASSVA service to increase overall service capacity and address gaps in service provision for male rape victims in the region.
Occupational Health
Contract held with Sunderland City Council for employee counselling, as part of their Occupational Health service.
REACH
A service provided under contract to provide counselling services for recent victims of sexual violence across the Northumbria Police Force area.
Schools
A service to provide an effective school-based counselling service for children and young people in the City of Sunderland.
St Benedicts Hospice
Providing individual counselling and other forms of support for patients and family members, carers and children of patients at St Benedict's Hospice in Sunderland.
Sunderland Talking Therapies
Contract funding from CNTW allocated to the provision of step 2 interventions within Sunderland's Talking Therapies service; and provision of therapy for people whose mental health and emotional wellbeing are affected by their caring responsibilities.
Basis of apportionment
Staff costs - time spent
Depreciation and other overheads - usage
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
During 2025 many employees have taken advantage of the company's pension scheme salary sacrifice arrangement.
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The company is exempt from tax under Sections 466 to 493 Corporation Taxes Act 2010 as long as income is applied for charitable purposes only.
Included in the above is accrued income of £397,989 (2024: £165,461).
Included in the above is deferred income of £Nil (2024 : £Nil).
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Grants receivable and similar funding may be repayable if certain associated conditions are not, or have not been, met.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).
The charity had no material debt during the year.
The liability of the members of the company is limited by guarantee. Each member has undertaken to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards any deficit arising in the event of the company being wound up.